The world's 100 most threatened species facts for kids

The Silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus), one of the many unique animals on the list. Fewer than 1,000 are still alive.

Imagine a world where some of the most unique animals, plants, and fungi are on the verge of disappearing forever. That's what the report The World's 100 Most Threatened Species is all about. It's a special list created by over 8,000 scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) and the Zoological Society of London. They published this important report in 2012 in a book called Priceless or Worthless?.

What makes these 100 species so special? The scientists chose them because they don't seem to offer any direct benefits to humans. Think about it: many people work hard to save animals like tigers or pandas because they are famous or bring in tourism. But the species on this list often don't have such obvious "fans." The report's title, "Priceless or Worthless?", asks us to think about whether all life has value, even if it doesn't directly help us.

One of the report's authors, Ellen Butcher, explained that we can help these species survive if we act quickly. She believes that every species has a right to exist, and society should support this idea. The report was shared in Jeju, South Korea, on September 11, 2012, at a big meeting called the World Conservation Congress. Experts there noted that it was becoming harder to get money to protect species unless they could show how humans would benefit. Jonathan Baillie, another author, said that people are often asking, "What can nature do for us?" This makes it tough to protect the most endangered creatures that don't have a clear human benefit.

Some of these species are incredibly rare. For example, the Santa Catarina's guinea pig lives on just one island in Brazil, with only about 40 to 60 individuals left. The great Indian bustard, a large bird, has only 50 to 249 individuals remaining due to farms and human buildings. A flowering plant called Elaeocarpus bojeri from Mauritius has fewer than 10 plants left! And the Baishan fir (Abies beshanzuensis) in China has only five mature trees. The "Priceless or Worthless?" report explains the dangers each species faces and suggests ways to help them survive.

Species list

The world's 100 most threatened species
Species	Common name	Type	Location(s)	Estimated population	Threats
Abies beshanzuensis	Baishan fir	Plant (Tree)	Baishanzu Mountain, Zhejiang, China	Three mature individuals	agriculture fire
Actinote zikani		Insect (butterfly)	Near São Paulo, Atlantic forest, Brazil	Unknown	habitat loss from human expansion
Aipysurus foliosquama	Leaf scaled sea-snake	Reptile	Ashmore Reef and Hibernia Reef, Timor Sea	Unknown	unknown—probably degradation of coral reef habitat
Amanipodagrion gilliesi	Amani flatwing	Insect (damselfly)	Amani-Sigi Forest, Usamabara Mountains, Tanzania	< 500 individuals	population pressure and water pollution
Antisolabis seychellensis		Insect	Morne Blanc, Mahé island, Seychelles	Unknown	invasive species climate change
Antilophia bokermanni	Araripe manakin	Bird	Chapado do Araripe, South Ceará, Brazil	779 individuals	recreational facilities water diversion
Aphanius transgrediens	Aci Göl toothcarp	Fish	south-eastern shore of former Lake Aci, Turkey	few hundred pairs	competition and predation by Gambusia road construction
Aproteles bulmerae	Bulmer's fruit bat	Mammal	Luplupwintern Cave, Western Province, Papua New Guinea	150	hunting cave disturbance
Ardea insignis	White bellied heron	Bird	Bhutan, North East India and Myanmar	70–400 individuals	hydropower development
Ardeotis nigriceps	Great Indian bustard	Bird	Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya, India	50–249 mature individuals	agricultural development energy transmission lines
Astrochelys yniphora	Ploughshare tortoise	Reptile	Baly Bay region, northwestern Madagascar	440–770	illegal collection for international pet trade
Atelopus balios	Rio Pescado stubfoot toad	Amphibian	Azuay, Cañar and Guyas provinces, south-western Ecuador	Unknown	Chytridiomycosis logging agricultural expansion
Aythya innotata	Madagascar pochard	Bird	volcanic lakes north of Bealanana, Madagascar	80 mature individuals	agriculture hunting and fishing introduced fish
Azurina eupalama	Galapagos damsel fish	Fish	Unknown	Unknown	climate change oceanographic changes related to the 1982/1983 El Nino
Bahaba taipingensis	Giant yellow croaker	Fish	Chinese coast from Yangtze River, China to Hong Kong	Unknown	over-fishing due to value of swim-bladder in traditional medicine
Batagur baska	Common batagur	Reptile (turtle)	Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia	Unknown	illegal export to China
Bazzania bhutanica		Plant	Budini and Lafeti Khola, Bhutan	2 sub-populations	forest clearance overgrazing development
Beatragus hunteri	Hirola	Mammal (antelope)	South-east Kenya and possibly south-west Somalia	< 1,000 individuals	habitat loss competition with livestock poaching
Bombus franklini	Franklin's bumblebee	Insect (bee)	Oregon and California	Unknown	disease from commercial bees habitat destruction and degradation
Brachyteles hypoxanthus	Northern muriqui Woolly spider monkey	Mammal (primate)	Atlantic forest, south-eastern Brazil	< 1,000	large-scale deforestation and logging
Bradypus pygmaeus	Pygmy three-toed sloth	Mammal	Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama	< 500	illegal logging of mangrove forests for firewood and construction hunting
Callitriche pulchra		Plant (freshwater)	pool on Gavdos, Greece	Unknown	habitat exploitation by livestock modification of the pool by locals
Calumma tarzan	Tarzan's chameleon	Reptile	Anosibe An'Ala region, eastern Madagascar	< 100	agriculture
Cavia intermedia	Santa Catarina's guinea pig	Mammal (rodent)	Moleques do Sul Island, Santa Catarina, Brazil	40–60	habitat disturbance possible hunting result of having such a small population
Cercopithecus roloway	Roloway guenon	Mammal (primate)	Côte d'Ivoire	Unknown	hunting habitat loss
Coleura seychellensis	Seychelles sheath-tailed bat	Mammal (bat)	Two small caves on Silhouette and Mahé, Seychelles	< 100	habitat degradation predation by invasive species
Cryptomyces maximus	Willow blister	Fungi	Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom	Unknown	limited habitat
Cryptotis nelsoni	Nelson's small-eared shrew	Mammal (shrew)	Volcán San Martín Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico	Unknown	logging cattle grazing fire agriculture
Cyclura collei	Jamaican iguana Jamaican rock iguana	Reptile	Hellshire Hills, Jamaica	Unknown	habitat destruction predation by introduced species
Daubentonia madagascariensis	Aye-aye	Mammal (primate)	Deciduous forest, East Madagascar	Unknown	poaching limited habitat
Dendrophylax fawcettii	Cayman Islands ghost orchid	Plant (orchid)	Ironwood Forest, George Town, Grand Cayman	Unknown	infrastructure development
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis	Sumatran rhino	Mammal (rhino)	Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia	< 100	hunting (horn is used in traditional medicine)
Diomedea amsterdamensis	Amsterdam albatross	Bird	Breeds on Plateuau des Tourbières, Amsterdam Island, Indian Ocean.	100 mature individuals	disease incidental by-catch in long-line fishing
Dioscorea strydomiana	Wild yam	Plant	Oshoek area, Mpumalanga, South Africa	200	collection for medicinal use
Diospyros katendei		Plant (tree)	Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve, Uganda	20 individuals in a single population	agricultural activity illegal tree felling alluvial gold digging small population
Dipterocarpus lamellatus		Plant (tree)	Siangau Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia	12 individuals	logging of lowland forest creation of industrial plantations
Discoglossus nigriventer	Hula painted frog	Amphibian	Hula Valley, Israel	Unknown	predation by birds range restriction due to habitat destruction
Dombeya mauritiana		Plant	Mauritius	Unknown	encroachment by invasive plant species habitat loss
Elaeocarpus bojeri	Bois Dentelle	Plant (tree)	Grand Bassin, Mauritius	< 10 individuals	habitat degradation
Eleutherodactylus glandulifer	La Hotte glanded frog	Amphibian	Massif de la Hotte, Haiti	Unknown	charcoal production slash-and-burn agriculture
Eleutherodactylus thorectes	Macaya breast-spot frog	Amphibian	Formon and Macaya peaks, Masif de la Hotte, Haiti	Unknown	charcoal production slash-and-burn agriculture
Eriosyce chilensis	Chilenito (cactus)	Plant	Pta Molles and Pichidungui, Chile	< 500 individuals	collection of flowering plants
Erythrina schliebenii	Coral tree	Plant	Namatimbili-Ngarama Forest, Tanzania	< 50 individuals	limited habitat and small population size increase vulnerability
Euphorbia tanaensis		Plant (tree)	Witu Forest Reserve, Kenya	4 mature individuals	illegal logging agricultural expansion infrastructure development
Eurynorhyncus pygmeus	Spoon-billed sandpiper	Bird	Breeds in Russia, migrates along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to wintering grounds in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar	100 breeding pairs	trapping land reclamation
Ficus katendei		Plant	Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve, Ishasha River, Uganda	< 50 mature individuals	agriculture illegal tree felling alluvial gold digging
Geronticus eremita	Northern bald ibis	Bird	Breeds in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. Syrian population winters in central Ethiopia.	about 3000 individuals	habitat degradation and destruction hunting
Gigasiphon macrosiphon		Plant (flower)	Kaya Muhaka, Gongoni and Mrima Forest Reserves, Kenya, Amani Nature Reserve, West Kilombero Scarp Forest Reserve, and Kihansi Gorge, Tanzania	33	timber extraction agriculture encroachment and development predation by wild pigs
Gocea ohridana		Mollusc	Lake Ohrid, Macedonia	Unknown	increasing pollution levels off-take of water sedimentation events
Heleophryne rosei	Table mountain ghost frog	Amphibian	Table Mountain, Western Cape Province, South Africa	Unknown	invasive plants water abstraction
Hemicycla paeteliana		Mollusc (land snail)	Jandia peninsula, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands	Unknown	overgrazing trampling by goats and tourists
Heteromirafa sidamoensis	Liben lark	Bird	Liben Plains, southern Ethiopia	90–256	agricultural expansion overgrazing fire suppression
Hibiscadelphus woodii		Plant (tree)	Kalalau Valley, Hawaii	Unknown	habitat degradation due to feral ungulates competition with invasive plant species
Hucho perryi	Sakhalin taimen	Fish	Russian and Japanese rivers, Pacific Ocean between Russia and Japan	Unknown	overfishing damming agriculture other land use
Johora singaporensis	Singapore freshwater crab	Crustacean	Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and streamlet near Bukit Batok, Singapore	Unknown	habitat degradation due to reduction in water quality and quantity
Lathyrus belinensis	Belin vetchling	Plant	Outskirts of Belin village, Antalya, Turkey	< 1,000	urbanisation over-grazing conifer planting road widening
Leiopelma archeyi	Archey's frog	Amphibian	Coromandel peninsula and Whareorino Forest, New Zealand	Unknown	Chytridiomycosis predation by invasive species
Lithobates sevosus	Dusky gopher frog	Amphibian	Harrison County, Mississippi, USA	60–100	fungal disease climate change land-use changes
Lophura edwardsi	Edwards's pheasant	Bird	Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, Viet Nam	Unknown	habitat loss hunting
Magnolia wolfii		Plant (tree)	Risaralda, Colombia	3	isolation of species low regeneration rates
Margaritifera marocana		Mollusc	Oued Denna, Oued Abid and Oued Beth, Morocco	< 250	pollution development
Moominia willii		Mollusc (snail)	Silhouette Island, Seychelles	< 500	invasive species climate change
Natalus primus	Cuban greater funnel eared bat	Mammal (bat)	Cueva La Barca, Isle of Pines, Cuba	< 100	habitat loss human disturbance
Nepenthes attenboroughii	Attenborough's pitcher plant	Plant	Mount Victoria, Palawan, Philippines	Unknown	poaching
Nomascus hainanus	Hainan black crested gibbon	Mammal (primate)	Hainan Island, China	20	hunting
Neurergus kaiseri	Luristan newt	Amphibian	Zagros Mountains, Lorestan, Iran	< 1,000	illegal collection for pet trade
Oreocnemis phoenix	Mulanje red damsel	Insect (damselfly)	Mulanje Plateau, Malawi	Unknown	habitat destruction and degradation due to drainage agricultural expansion exploitation of forest
Pangasius sanitwongsei	Pangasid catfish	Fish	Chao Phraya and Mekong basins in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam	Unknown	overfishing collection for aquarium trade
Parides burchellanus		Insect (butterfly)	Cerrado, Brazil	< 100	human expansion limited range
Phocoena sinus	Vaquita	Mammal (porpoise)	Northern Gulf of California, Mexico	12	capture in fishermen's gillnets
Picea neoveitchii	Type of spruce tree	Plant (tree)	Qinling Range, China	Unknown	destruction of forest
Pinus squamata	Qiaojia pine	Plant (tree)	Qiaojia, Yunnan, China	< 25	limited distribution small population size
Poecilotheria metallica	Gooty tarantula Metallic tarantula Peacock tarantula Salepurgu	Spider	Nandyal and Giddalur, Andhra Pradesh, India	Unknown	deforestation firewood collection civil unrest
Pomarea whitneyi	Fatuhiva monarch	Bird	Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia	50	predation by introduced species - Rattus rattus and feral cats
Pristis pristis	Common sawfish	Fish	Coastal tropical and subtropical waters of Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Currently largely restricted to northern Australia	Unknown	exploitation has removed the species from 95 per cent of its historical range
Hapalemur simus	Greater bamboo lemur	Mammal (primate)	Southeastern and southcentral rainforests of Madagascar	500	agriculture mining illegal logging
Propithecus candidus	Silky sifaka	Mammal (primate)	Maroantsetra to Andapa basin, and Marojeju Massif, Madagascar	100–1,000	hunting habitat disturbance
Psammobates geometricus	Geometric tortoise	Reptile	Western Cape Province, South Africa	Unknown	loss of habitat destruction predation
Pseudoryx nghetinhensis	Saola	Mammal	Annamite mountains, on the Viet Nam - PDR Laos border	Unknown	habitat destruction hunting
Psiadia cataractae		Plant	Mauritius	Unknown	development project competition from invasive plant species
Psorodonotus ebneri	Beydaglari bush-cricket	Insect	Beydaglari range, Antalaya, Turkey	Unknown	climate change habitat loss
Rafetus swinhoei	Red River giant softshell turtle	Reptile	Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Mo Lake, Viet Nam, and Suzhou Zoo, China	3	hunting for consumption wetland destruction pollution
Rhinoceros sondaicus	Javan rhino	Mammal (rhino)	Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia	< 100	hunting for traditional medicine small population size
Rhinopithecus avunculus	Tonkin snub-nosed monkey	Mammal (primate)	Northeastern Vietnam	< 200	habitat loss hunting
Rhizanthella gardneri	West Australian underground orchid	Plant (orchid)	Western Australia, Australia	< 100	land clearance for agriculture climate change salinisation
Rhynchocyon spp.	Boni giant sengi	Mammal	Boni-Dodori Forest, Lamu area, Kenya	Unknown	development causing habitat loss
Risiocnemis seidenschwarzi	Cebu frill-wing	Insect (damselfly)	Rivulet beside the Kawasan River, Cebu, Philippines	Unknown	habitat degradation and destruction
Rosa arabica		Plant	St Katherine Mountains, Egypt	Unknown, 10 sub-populations	domestic animal grazing climate change and drought medicinal plant collecting limited range
Salanoia durrelli	Durrell's vontsira	Mammal (mongoose)	Marshes of Lake Alaotra, Madagascar	Unknown	loss of habitat
Santamartamys rufodorsalis	Red crested tree rat	Mammal (rodent)	Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia	Unknown	urban development coffee cultivation
Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis	Red-finned blue-eye	Fish	Edgbaston Station, central western Queensland, Australia	2,000–4,000	predation by introduced species
Squatina squatina	Angel shark	Fish	Canary Islands	Unknown	benthic trawling
Sterna bernsteini	Chinese crested tern	Bird	Breeding in Zhejiang and Fujian, China. Outside breeding season in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand.	< 50	habitat destruction egg collection
Syngnathus watermeyeri	Estuarine pipefish	Fish	Kariega Estuary to East Kleinemonde Estuary, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa	Unknown	dam construction is altering river flows flood events into estuaries
Tahina spectabilis	Suicide palm Dimaka	Plant	Analalava district, north-western Madagascar	90	fires logging agricultural developments
Telmatobufo bullocki	Bullock's false toad	Amphibian (frog)	Nahuelbuta, Arauco Province, Chile	Unknown	construction of hydro-electricity
Tokudaia muenninki	Okinawa spiny rat	Mammal (rodent)	Okinawa Island, Japan	Unknown	habitat loss predation by feral cats
Trigonostigma somphongsi	Somphongs's rasbora	Fish	Mae Khlong basin, Thailand	Unknown	farmland conversion and urbanization
Valencia letourneuxi		Fish	Southern Albania and Western Greece	Unknown	habitat destruction water abstraction aggressive interaction with Gambusia
Voanioala gerardii	Forest coconut	Plant	Masoala peninsula, Madagascar	< 10	deforestation harvesting for consumption of palm heart
Zaglossus attenboroughi	Attenborough's echidna	Mammal	Cyclops Mountains, Papua Province, Indonesia	Unknown	habitat modification and degradation logging agricultural encroachment shifting cultivation and hunting by local people

How You Can Help

Even though these species might seem far away, everyone can help protect them. Learning about endangered species is the first step. You can also support organizations that work to save habitats and stop illegal hunting. Every small action helps make a difference for these priceless creatures and plants.

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